THE BEER NUT: Drinking from the River Styx

Wednesday

Jul 5, 2017 at 4:02 PMJul 10, 2017 at 12:56 PM

Norman Miller Daily News Staff @Norman_MillerMW

FITCHBURG – Charon, who in ancient Greek mythology ferried souls across the river Styx from the world of the living to the world of the dead, now has a new duty: pointing visitors to the front door of the River Styx Brewing Company.

River Styx opened its doors Saturday at 166 Boulder Drive, in a building where General Electric once manufactured steam turbines. It is the newest brewery in Massachusetts, and where Ashburnham couple Jackie and Scott Cullen are pouring their lineup of IPAs, stouts and saisons.

The Cullens, longtime brewers, went all-out with the River Styx theme. Once visitors enter the large, airy taproom that has seating for 100 people, they’re greeted with a large etching on the wall that says, “Welcome to the underworld.” On one wall there is a large mural depicting a scene from the myth of the River Styx, which is both a deity and a river that forms the boundary between Earth and the Underworld. On another wall is a mural of an evil-looking tree with snakes and skulls.

Even the lights are shaped like lanterns that have special bulbs that mimic a live flickering flame.

“This has been my vision in my head for the past two years,” said Jackie Cullen. “The road we live on starts as River Styx Road before it changes to something else. As we were driving home one night and trying to come up with a name, the street sign, River Styx, just kind of glistened and I said, we could do River Styx Brewing and use Greek mythology and we could use the gods as the names of our beers.”

It’s easy to tell whether Jackie Cullen or her husband developed the recipe for the individual beers. If it has a male name, it was developed by Scott Cullen. If it has a female name, it was developed by Jackie.

The taproom itself is one of the most spacious in Massachusetts. Despite having about 100 seats, there is plenty of space to walk around and there’s no sense of crowding. They also have a lot of entertainment besides the beer – a regulation shuffleboard table and a giant Jenga, along with smaller games such as Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots and Battleship.

As for the beers, the initial draft list reflects what the Cullens enjoy – high-alcohol IPAs and stouts.

“I’ve always had a passion for double IPAs,” said Jackie Cullen. “This is our we like drinking.”

The beers include Zeus King of Gods, an 8.5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) double IPA and Rhea Darkness, an 11 percent ABV imperial stout.

It’s not all stouts and IPAs. Phanes is an excellent saison, as is Proteus 1. Proteus is a series of experimental beers, Jackie Cullen said.

She said they plan on doing other beers, such as bourbon-maple barrel-aged stouts from their own barrels, and they are working on sour beers in a small pilot brewery.

They also serve locally roasted cold-brew coffee on nitro, and they also have giant pretzels shaped like the ferry used to cross the river Styx. Jackie Cullen said they also plan on having food trucks there often and people are welcome to bring food in. They are also working to set up an outdoor seating area. Beer is available to-go in the form of 32-ounce Crowlers, which are giant cans.

“It took so much work to get to where we are,” said Jackie Cullen. “Everyone said we wouldn’t be able to do it how we wanted to, but we got it exactly how we wanted.”

Norman Miller is a Daily News staff writer. Email him at nmiller@wickedlocal.com or call 508-626-3823. Check out the Beer Nut blog at http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/section/blogs01?taxid=646&start=2. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @RealBeerNut and on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerBeerNut.